Union blames Apple for St. Louis store's decision to halt organizing effort

Apple Store Cutout Nyc Update
Apple Store Cutout Nyc Update (Image credit: iMore)

Another Apple Store has folded its attempt to unionize.

As reported by Bloomberg, employees at an Apple Store in St. Louis, Missouri have stopped their attempt to unionize. The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, which has been working with the employees at the store, blames the stoppage on Apple.

In a statement released Wednesday, the IAM says that Apple has engaged in “anti-union practices and increased hostility towards workers. The IAM will continue to ensure that all labor laws are followed and remain hopeful that Apple workers will get the respect and dignity they deserve."

The IAM claims Apple engaged in anti-union efforts

The IAM had actually filed a petition with the National Labor Relations Board in the United States to represent the St. Louis Apple Store's eighty employees just last week. In the same week, the union filed a complaint against Apple with the NLRB, claiming that the company had broke federal law by "holding mandatory anti-union meetings, threatening retaliation and telling staff that organizing would be futile."

The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, in today's statement, says that “Apple has chosen the route of disenfranchising its workers and their right to enjoy the benefits of having a union."

Apple has not yet responded to Bloomberg's request for comment on the story.

St. Louis is the second Apple Store to halt its organizing effort, but there are some stores that have unionized already. The Apple Store in Towson, Maryland, which recently organized with the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, began its bargaining efforts with the company back in June.

At the time, IAM International President Robert Martinez Jr. had hinted that the union wasn't stopping at Townson and was building a blueprint for Apple Store employees who wish to unionize across the country. While efforts may have halted in St. Louis, they're sure to pop up again elsewhere.

Joe Wituschek
Contributor

Joe Wituschek is a Contributor at iMore. With over ten years in the technology industry, one of them being at Apple, Joe now covers the company for the website. In addition to covering breaking news, Joe also writes editorials and reviews for a range of products. He fell in love with Apple products when he got an iPod nano for Christmas almost twenty years ago. Despite being considered a "heavy" user, he has always preferred the consumer-focused products like the MacBook Air, iPad mini, and iPhone 13 mini. He will fight to the death to keep a mini iPhone in the lineup. In his free time, Joe enjoys video games, movies, photography, running, and basically everything outdoors.